Cleveland Museum of Art

Saying Farewell at Xunyang (Song of the Pipa)

Wen Boren

Date

1500s

Medium

handscroll, ink and color on paper

Culture

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This handscroll depicts The Song of the Pipa , a poem by Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) written after the poet’s encounter with a pipa player on the Yangzi River. Expelled from her home city when her beauty and fame had faded, she played for the poet at night. Her musical performance and tragic life story resonated with Bai Juyi, who had just been demoted and exiled from life at court himself. The hazy, vast view and pale color tonalities of this painting illustrate these feelings of endless sadness, having lost one’s sense of purpose in life. Wen Boren depicted the chilly autumn water with a fishnet pattern.

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